davidmastersadmin | David M Masters

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

In life, you may encounter people who are not as they represent themselves, and when they are stealthy in their approach to control or manipulate others, we refer to such a person as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Jesus coined the phrase about false prophets, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15), and Aesop tells a fable about a wolf who dons the pelt of a sheep who disguised as one of the fold walks freely among the herd and finds they are easy prey. That is until he is discovered by the shepherd and the wolf pays for his deception with his life, inferring that the wolf, no matter how clever he may be, will always be found out, sooner or later.

Modern-day wolves in sheep’s clothing blend in well with social circles, this is their primary skill. They have no qualms about lying, misrepresenting themselves and telling people in the circle what they want to hear in an effort to deceive and manipulate them for his or her profit, entertainment or pleasure.

If you’re anything like Aesop’s shepherd you will have a sense that something’s not right among the people in your social circle (the sheep) and you will do a security scan using your five senses (and maybe a sixth sense) to identify the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

While you are scanning your group of individuals, you may be able to discover the signs which might help you uncover your wolf in sheep’s clothing, for instance,

Something Doesn’t Sound Right

When they’re in their story-telling mode, they are very adept at concocting an authentic-sounding tale based on information they’ve garnered from other people or the Internet. Their story (or stories) sounds authentic enough, but there’s something that just doesn’t sound right about it.

If you’re around them for any period of time, it is likely that a wolf in sheep’s clothing will flub up and mix up the details, or utter contradictory information about their original story. Why? Because the original story was utter fiction, and they have other things to think about (the prey) besides tracking all the data which they spew to deceive others.

Not to worry, in the event that they get caught or confronted about an inconsistency, they’re usually quite adept at covering their tracks with a convincing fictional rationalization.

They Don’t Stand Still Too Long

Far from being sedentary, the wolf in sheep’s clothing will keep it moving at a steady and quick pace, so as not to be detected by relaxing or lollygagging. They’re on a mission, and they can’t be caught resting on their laurels.

They will find ways to develop bonds quickly with the right kinds of folks who will further their agenda or shore up their “trustworthiness.” They can be quite the silver-tongued persuaders, quickly finding their way into the hearts of those who are eager to see the best in someone or put their faith and trust in others.

Emotional Roller Coaster

The wolf in sheep’s clothing is likely to use your emotions to their fullest extent. At the outset, everything will be about you, making certain to keep your emotions ramped up and keep you in a state of exhilaration which releases bonding hormones which indenture you to the wolf.

The wolf will cozy up to you emotionally, spiritually, and even physically (which may include romantic implications). They will use any tools which are available to them to obtain their desired result.

Once they feel they have you firmly in their grasp, the attention will shift sharply from you to making it all about them, and you may fall victim to this ploy out of a sense of obligation. Be aware of this tactic.

Short Attention Span

The wolf in sheep’s clothing has an agenda, so veering too far off the road from where they want to go is intolerable, which may cause them to be anxious to reset the course mid-stream. Also, wolves are bored easily. They are constantly looking for ways to switch things up or try something new because the threat of boredom to a wolf is torture.

The wolf often juggles many tasks and items at once to keep his quick-paced lifestyle and may not follow through on much of anything to completion. Why? Because in most cases while a particular activity may be enjoyable or preventing him or her from being bored, they are not really enjoying it much, because it’s all a part of their act.

They move quickly from one thing to another to avoid being bored. (And don’t even think about them signing up to ensure a long check-out line, or stand for being held up in traffic.)

Their Mind Breaks Character

Even though their upfront game is tight, you can see their mind givethem away sometimes, if you’re attentive enough.It is not uncommon for the wolf’s mind to

It is not uncommon for the wolf’s mind to wander when others are intently focused. In a classroom environment, group meeting, intense roundtable discussion, boardroom meeting or brainstorming session, their thoughts will clearly take them somewhere else.

If you are attentive, you will witness the disconnect via eye movement, facial expression, and a shift of body position. It may not last for long, but the wolf has traveled deep within to plan his next move, taking a moment to review an entirely different manipulation, or to fantasize about a potentially beneficial outcome.

<br />

Holistic Approach to Healthcare

There is a growing trend in alternative medicine and natural remedies among the people (about one-half of the American population believes in alternative therapies and this number is growing rapidly). Even so, many people are still locked into the science of believing in traditional medicine and ongoing medical care by trained professionals. Remember, these professional doctors have been professionally trained in dispensing designer patented drugs, referring patients for tests by exposing themselves to expensive scientifically advanced equipment and surgeries.

Some people aren’t buying it anymore. They are questioning the idea that expensive designer drugs and surgery are not always (and maybe never) the best answer. These free-thinking individuals are refocusing their attention on natural remedies and alternative medicine.

This is part of the expansion explorer’s journey. In order to make a break from the mainstream you have to stop believing in the propaganda which exists all around us in an effort to make us believe this information is true, yet those who do believe in all the persistent lies, think that if they’re not feeling well, they must seek out a doctor and blindly follow his or her recommendations.

If you want to make the move toward more natural approaches to your individual health care you must think differently. After you’ve decided to believe the hype in the false claims of advertising and promotion of these designer drugs, you need to look at your maladies in a different way.

Instead of thinking about going to the doctor, you will need to look at other things that are going on in your life that might be affecting your mind, heart, and body. One of my favorite people, Louise Hay, shared a list of symptoms and the conditions of life which contribute to these sicknesses and diseases in her book, You Can Heal Your Life. This book is probably one of the most significant contributions to making the world a better place and will long be revered even though she has left us to continue her journey on the other side. What a gift.

Although it is known that these principles, as Louise Hay presents them, are not necessarily a new idea, as these concepts are found in ancient spiritual practices, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and other holistic health systems. But she, so cleverly inspired, provided the modern world with a map that we could wrap our consciousness around.

When you’re entertaining the idea of taking responsibility for your own health care, you need to look outside the box of traditional medicine. When you use Doctor Google to help self-diagnose and treat your own symptoms, you will note that expensive clinical research and scientific studies have been conducted and their results published and made easy for you to find.

Keep in mind that these expensive studies are funded by the pharmaceutical company that created the patented drugs, as well as the organizations, universities, and government agencies that support them. While natural remedies are free or extremely inexpensive, so there is no scientific proof to support any claims that you might find for results associated with these alternative therapies. What you will find, though, are anecdotal stories and personal experiences of those who have taken this road less traveled.

While you are looking into these alternatives, also keep in mind that there are people who specialize in these alternative therapeutic interventions. There are natural healing modalities and practitioners who specialize in these, as well as other approaches to natural healing. These practitioners agree that healing is a three-fold process addressing the body, the mind, and the spirit; this is the holistic approach, treating the whole body.

When you’re considering self-healing, be sure to take the time to examine all three areas of your life, the body, the mind, and your spirit.

Disenfranchised Grief

Disenfranchised grief is the kind of grief that is not socially acceptable. In the normal course of the grieving process, in say, the loss of life of someone you cared for deeply, your social support system recognizes your loss, empathizes with you and aids in your recovery through this difficult time. Having someone who understands your pain of loss can help immensely in your recovery from grief.

Yet, there are those whose pain is not recognized by their social support system, and they are left to grieve alone, without support, and often bottle up huge feelings of loss, which left untended to can cause mental, autoimmune and other physical resources to deteriorate, leaving the sufferer vulnerable to illness, disease and premature death.

Even though your pain of loss is very real and warranted because your authentic love and connection were so great, the loss of it is almost too much to bear, and though your heart is bleeding, others do not recognize or validate the pain you’re going through.

Let’s say you had a love affair with someone who was married to someone else. Your love was deep, meaningful and true. If he or she passes away unexpectedly, you will likely not be able to mourn publicly nor communicate your sense of loss because your love was hidden from public view. And there are other examples of disenfranchised grief.

Alternative lifestyle relationships which are based on love and respect but hidden from public view are a source of disenfranchised grief for those who conduct their affairs “in the closet.” If a partner dies, you are left alone, without support, with no one to understand your grief.

I’ve had clients whose older brother or sister passes away. Their sense of loss was incredibly tragic, yet their societal support system looked at this just as a normal part of the life cycle, “so what’s the big deal?” They were unable to garner any support for their grieving process.

Step-relationships can have a weakened social support system in regards to grief as if to say that the relationship between a step-parent, stepson, stepdaughter, or step-sibling is not as close or meaningful as a blood-relation. This can be especially difficult in broken homes with ex-step relationships at risk and socially misunderstood or disregarded as being insignificant. (Ex-steps are often not invited to funerals of their former step-relations nor are they regarded as “family.”)

Marital status does not dictate the tenderness of one’s heart, even though societal resources often do not recognize your sense of loss when a former lover, ex-husband or ex-wife passes away. Just because the relationship was unable to continue, doesn’t mean your love for that person is invalidated.

If your loved one dies of AIDS, it might be difficult to have that conversation with others who do not understand or may be judgmental.

Other types of disenfranchised grief of often associated with miscarriages, abortion, or sometimes when your relationship with someone who has recently lost someone of significance is so great, that you, too, feel the sense of loss.

Healthcare professionals often feel the loss of patients who pass away, yet because they are professionals, “in the business,” their grief is invalidated by society.

Also, the loss of a pet might be just as painful as the loss of a family member, yet people who do not have a deep connection with a pet could barely understand your sense of loss.

Some have experienced an overwhelming sense of loss over the death of a celebrity, which would be difficult for garnering social support for the grieving process.

Disenfranchised grief is not just as it is associated with the loss of life, there are other forms of loss which are just as traumatic and painful and initiate the need to grieve or mourn, but certain types of loss may not be recognized by your social support system.

Your son or daughter (spouse, a family member, or close friend) is diagnosed with a mental disability. This can be a traumatic life tragedy, but you find it difficult to fully express your sense of loss and to grieve as you might need to.

You may feel an overwhelming sense of loss in a failed marriage, a recent diagnosis of failing health, the loss of a significant investment or business. Even the sense that dreams that were once within your reach are forever gone.

Regardless of the source of your grief, how disenfranchised you might feel, know that you are entitled to your grief, no one has the right to take that from you and nothing makes your grief unacceptable. Just because others do not understand how you feel, does not invalidate your reasons for feeling the way you do.

Assert a proactive stance, embrace your sense of loss, find ways to express it in healthy ways for as long as is necessary for you. You might not be able to grieve publicly, but you still have the right to do so, in your own way, in your own time, without offending others.

Your grieving process should be validated by others, so find others with whom you can share your grieving process with who will support you. You might find a group of people who are going through the same kind of loss or seek out a counselor or coach to walk with you along this difficult part of your journey.

Making Sense of Wasted Love

I know, you’ve loved with all your heart, just to have your heart broken over and over again. It’s as if all the love you’ve given was a waste. It’s up to you, whether your past love is a waste or an investment. Maybe the time has come for making sense of wasted love.

“I love. I love people, I love you. I seriously want the love of another in my life, ‘The One,’ but I keep attracting the wrong people. I mean, they’re nice enough, but I have this history of failed relationships when I only want one person to spend the rest of my life with.”

I hear it a lot, from clients and friends, pretty much the same sentiment, looking for an elusive long-lasting love; one that would last a lifetime. Many of us (even I) have longed for such a love.

The first thing to know is that you have a divine love affair with one person with whom you will spend the rest of your life with. That person is standing right in front of you, if you’re looking into a mirror. Your wish was answered before you were born. Your first, primary love affair is the one that you have with yourself.

This is the beginning of true love, because how can you truly love anyone or anything else, if you don’t love yourself first? The truth about true love is that it overflows from your love of yourself and your life onto and into others. This is true love.

That aside, your life is a story of your journey made up of many chapters. Each chapter unfolds the way that it does preparing you for the next chapter. The most exciting life stories have growth and change in many (if not all) of the chapters, with the occasional plot twist to add that unexpected/special something-something that makes it so much more exhilarating.

If your story is somewhat of a dysfunctional romance novel, keep living, keep reading… the best is yet to come.

The person who loves with all their heart, loving so hard that it hurts, and experiences tragedy and loss in their love relationships is being led through the greatest love story of all. It is hard, no doubt, but it will be worth it.

As with all things in love, learning true love is a process. You can tell if your journey of love has been difficult, that “love” is the major theme of your life’s story. You can move more quickly through this process of learning about true love, and loving truly, if you are quick to learn the lesson of your relationship training, which will prepare you for a greater love.

“But I keep attracting the same kind of person.”

“It’s as if my picker is broken.” Believe me, your picker is not broken. You are not selecting the same type of person out of some subconscious sadistic need to torture yourself. You will keep going ‘round and ‘round the merry-go-round (or even the “marry-go-round”) until you’ve grown in preparation for a greater love and learned your love lesson from this type of relationship.

If you have not extracted and processed the lesson, internalizing and nourishing your mind, your heart and your soul from the process of your last (or current) relationship, you will not be ready for the greatest love of all which awaits you.

In the moment that you had the thought in your mind and felt the desire for true love in your life, that spark lit up in the sky and your highest and best form of love was prepared for you, as was the course of study it would take to get you from where you are in life, to where you want to be, with all your dreams of true love are realized. In that moment, it was done.

Your prayer for true love has been answered in the best (almost sounding too good to be true, but nothing could be more exponentially worthwhile or true than truly fulfilled love) possible way. The love that awaits you is so good, in fact, that it supersedes your wildest dreams in terms of love.

The question is,

“Do I have what it takes to get from here to there?”

True love can be a grueling (if not seemingly cruel) course of study. Not everyone is called to seek a life of true love. Even though you feel like seeking true love is a yearning, a desire deep within every cell of your being to find true love, it is not as it seems.

The quest for true love is a divine calling.

It is clear that you have been called. The quest for true love is a major (if not the major) theme of your life. Are you ready to go on life’s journey to true love?

Then seek to learn, to grow in love. Once you’ve decided to do so, all the relationships you’ve been through ‘til now take on a new glow in the new light of expanded love. From this perspective, you can see the blessings and the lessons as your heart fills with gratitude for all those relationships which have gone before.

Want to learn more?

Think about attending my Awakening to True Love Workshop, coming to a location near you.

See you at the Soulmate Wizardry event.

Forgiveness It Ain’t Easy

Want to know what the best thing you can do is? Forgive someone. When you forgive someone for something, your body heals, your love and your ability to love unconditionally grows. Forgiving makes you a better person, impacts your life, local community, and the community at large. Forgiving supports your living a better life, is part of living your best life and makes the world a better place.

Forgiveness, it ain’t easy – but there’s nothing better

Forgiveness is not for the faint at heart. It’s serious, meaningful business, and it’s not easy. It hangs in a delicate balance between good and bad, right and wrong, happiness and sadness, love and fear.

You spend your whole life trying to do the right thing while protecting yourself from things that make you feel bad. Though never seen by others, you are most sensitive to your emotions. They give your life meaning and are the most intimate part of who you are as a person.

In matters of the heart, you protect yourself with invisible walls of protection, an emotional force field. This protective force field consists of the elements of fear, to protect you from potential pain or danger, and may include self-righteousness, or a sense of superiority as well as disrespect, spite, anger, or hate. All in an effort to avoid the breaking of your heart.

If being emotionally hurt or betrayed is the worst thing that can happen to you, potentially wounding you far worse than any superficial wound on the surface which could be seen and treated on the physical body, the wounds suffered by your bleeding heart can be more painful, private and longstanding.

You can try to ignore these negative feelings, keep them bottled up inside, but all that does is allow them to fester, grow and eat away at you, like cancer. Left to their own devices, will cost you the potential of having a long and happy life. Harboring unforgiveness will be the death of you, and it is the invisible Grim Reaper for more people than could possibly be counted or imagined.

You are not an emotionless being. You were created to have these emotions, they are here not only to teach you, allow you to grow and flourish, but without them, you would never know all the beauty, grace, and happiness this life has in store for you.

The key is in managing and maximizing your emotions by learning to forgive, and the more you forgive, the more benevolent, loving, caring and enjoyment will be gleaned by living out your life in a higher vibration of love and tolerance.

You are more than your body, more than your emotions, more than what you see in the mirror. That higher, sacred part of you is your primary focal point in this life. Being able to take your eyes off your external experience and turn them inward and upward is your sacred gift.

Besides healing wounds held in the Fort Knox of your soul, forgiveness cleanses you from the specters of your past, helps you live freely in the now, and paves the way for your bright future.

Forgiveness is not as much about the other person as you might think. It is about you, your ability to forgive and move on in love, uninhibited by unforgiveness. There is no need to reconnect with the offender, especially if the offense was abusive in nature, no requirement to contact them, or notify him or her that you have forgiven them.

Forgiveness is your gift from and to you, affecting all the energies and people around you in the fields of love and light.

Forgiveness is a powerful force for good, banishing fear and promoting love for a better world.

As you learn to forgive, you will immediately see changes in the world around you. Your relationships will take on more meaning and grow deeper with an increased sense of connection. Your creativity will soar and love will abound.

The more you forgive, the more you can trust, and be empowered to experience greater degrees of freedom, health, and all the good things this life has to offer, wrapped in the warm blanket of love.

Forgiveness; it’s not easy, but it’s the greatest and most beneficial soul-work of all.

Fear not, and be willing to do the deep inner work for a better world.

Enjoy the Seventh Wave

You’re having a great day, you’re growing, changing and loving every minute of it. Know that your spiritual growth will come in waves and these waves come in cycles. Cycles of waves generally come in groups of fourteen, with a particularly long-lasting big wave halfway through the cycle. So, if everything seems to be optimal in your growth and performance, enjoy the seventh wave.

The seventh wave is always the biggest one, and when you first emerge on your spiritual journey, you have no idea which wave you are on when you start, so you ride the wave which presents itself to you. When you’re riding the biggest wave, you know it. Some people are lucky to catch the biggest wave their first time out.

Once you’ve experienced the big wave, you know the water will go out and another wave will come, it will not be as big as the last one, but another one is coming, and every so often (roughly every seventh wave) a big one comes; and when it does, enjoy the seventh wave.

Your spiritual journey works in waves. There will be times of great growth and expansion followed by a recession (the water going out, building for the next wave) and the diligent expansion explorer is preparing for the next wave during the lull.

Some people catch every wave, some try only to catch the biggest ones because they’re just more fun, and there’s other stuff you could be doing (like making out with an adorable sun-tanned god/goddess on the beach, or some other worthwhile distraction).

You have enjoyed the seventh wave, you feel like King Midas, everything you touch turns to gold, then the wave goes out… All of a sudden, you’re feeling more like King Dung. Get to know the cycles of life and energy, and realize that it comes in waves.

Jim Rohn said he can always predict the economic future, that

There Will be Expansion

Everyone gets excited about the thought that something good is coming; but he’s not finished with his economic prediction, he continues with

Followed by Recession

Everybody sinks and imagines losing all the money they’ve imagined making during the expansion. But Rohn has one more thing to add,

Savvy Investors Will Profit Wildly in Both

There was never a more accurate prognosticator of the economic landscape and your spiritual journey will follow the same rhythm. It is the rhythm of life.

The savvy expansion explorer understands this universal ebb and flow, rests, regroups, continues to learn, grow, and change during the lull (recession) while staying diligently aware and in a state of preparation for the next incoming wave.

In between the waves, this is the time to review and evaluate where you are on your spiritual journey. Take the time to look and survey the beach all around you. Are you on the right part of the beach, or is it time to move up or down the beach to find a better spot?

Maybe it’s time to take time out for planning, the maintenance of your equipment, restock supplies, or wax your board. If you’re tending to your camp or nest, it’s okay to miss a few waves in preparing for maximizing your next one.

Every hour of planning saves three hours of execution. That’s a 300% return on your investment. Strategizing between waves is not only prudent, it’s mandatory for the savvy expansion explorer.

No matter where you are, or what you’re doing right now, that seventh wave is out there waiting for you. So, don’t lose faith when you’re not surfing, or maybe nowhere near the beach. The beach and the waves will still be there. They are waiting for you.

The seventh wave, when you catch it, you are on top of the world, everything seems precious and priceless. You are empowered, strong, intuitive, purposeful, fearless and you wish this wave could last forever.

Know that the wave will subside and the surf will retract. Get out of the water and get ready by strategically planning your interaction and maximization of your next wave. Don’t get caught in the undertow.

Blossom Like a Rose

Wake up. Your soul is waiting to be set free and blossom like a rose. Society, your friends, coworkers, and acquaintances are expecting you to neglect your soul and keep it safely locked away. For the religiously-inclined, there’s a good chance that your leadership doesn’t want you to tap into your soul-source and set it free, blossoming into life, either.

The sociological system depends on the hierarchy of power and strong division between groups, thereby making the masses easier to control as they are led to believe that they “choose” one group or another. For the system, it doesn’t matter what group you are aligned with, only that you can define yourself, and that you are either a leader or a follower of a particular set of thought constraints.

But the times they are a changing. You may have noticed your soul expanding and you’re starting to see the divisions differently. How acutely wise was it for Groucho Marx to proclaim, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.”

While anyone who might have the individual strength of character to think of such a thing, risking being labeled a narcissist or potentially being diagnosed with individuality psychosis, there are those who are courageously backing away from the mob and group mentality and beginning to think, feel, grow and expand on their own.

That part of you that has been denied free reign, that sacred part of you, is coming alive, and you are realizing there is more to this life than you’ve ever had the permission to imagine.

When you start to embrace your true spirituality (not the heavily controlled ritualistic following of a prescribed notion of someone else’s insistence) you start to grow, expand and see things in a different light, from a spiritual perspective.

From this perspective, you can see your place in the universe as well as the parts others and our planet plays in the cycle of all things. This allows you to experience greater love and compassion for others, and the world, as it is. You are likely to explore ways to tap into your soul-connection to the intelligent source energy that surrounds and permeates all things, life as we are able to experience it, and beyond.

You are starting to experience a sacred respect for life and the role that you are so blessed to play in it. As your connection increases, you may find yourself experimenting with meditation and prayer, as that spirit part of yourself cries out for connection and expression.

There are a divine love and peace which resides within you. It has always been there and will always be there, you need only to tap into it and embrace your soul’s journey. Love and connection to others through relationship, emotional and spiritual connection is your primary concern as the concerns of this world grow strangely dim.

You develop a reverence for the beauty and elegance of our planet, and seek a connection with it, whether in taking a stroll along a waterfront, traipsing through the wilderness, exploring the sky, or watching the sun rise or fall.

You are connecting with that deeper part of you and you connect to life all around you and find a sense of peace and calm in knowing you are a part of it all. You know it when you stop and smell the roses, and you realize you are the rose.

As you grow and expand the things in life which seemed so important, the things that distracted you from tapping into your soul, the energetic powerhouse that laid dormant within you, and kept you from achieving your highest and best, those distractions lose their hold over you. Day by day, you are less and less, affected by those invisible chains that used to bind you and still enslave others.

You are a young rosebud, your petals are forming and expanding, as the light of love and life illuminates and furnishes you the energy necessary for your expansion. It’s not something you need to (or can) force. No one can dictate how it will happen. This growth and expansion only need to be allowed. The more allowance, the easier the unfolding expansion is.

It’s easier said than done because we’ve been programmed against such liberty and true freedom to evolve individually. It’s hard to just let go and let it happen, but one day, there you are, your rose bursts open in all its glory, and you are beautiful, thriving and free.

If you are wise, you will find ways to keep your growing expansion somewhat a guarded secret from those who might have no possibility of fathoming what life might be like if they were uncontrolled and allowed to evolve. These people have been programmed to respond to any such idea of evolving beyond structured thought patterns as folly, a serious mental condition, or potentially criminal behavior.

Do not waste your time trying to explain yourself to someone who cannot possibly hear or understand what you are trying to say. They will not be able to conceive of it until that sacred part of them starts to awaken, but many will not.

This is not about them. You are not here to rescue anyone, except yourself, and all you need to do is let go and allow…

Until that day, when the awakening populace achieves critical mass and the entire human race evolves. Then, the world will indeed be a different place.

Have I Got a Deal for You…

You know what I’m talking about… You’re working along, building your business, following your path, executing your mission, doing your thing, and all of a sudden you run across an inspiring individual who presents you with the deal of the century, as he says,

“Have I got a deal for you…”

Oh, this deal is so great, a real ground floor opportunity. You’re presented with “facts and figures” mixed with optimistic speculation, and it sounds like such a good deal. You’re reminded of all the rags to riches stories you’ve heard throughout your life, and you’ve though, “If only I’d been in the right place, at the right time.”

The pitchman assures you, “This is your chance to hit the big time, all in one fail swoop.”

You think about how hard you’re working, how diligent and faithful you’ve been to your own project, and sometimes, you must admit, it’s seems more like work than you thought it would be when you first signed on.”

If this opportunity worked out, it needn’t require all of your focus. You could just basically dabble in it for a while and use the financial windfall to fund your real project, pay for what you need to get to the next level, or answer your true calling.

Plus, you’ve made sacrifices. Sacrifices who have also cost those around you, the people you care about. You’ve been working late hours, not taken high quality vacations, or spent the kind of time you’d like to with family and friends.

This opportunity would make the world right; and it only costs $X.xx amount to get started. Not unlike any of the headlines of stories you’ve heard about others who made a modest investment, taking a chance on something unfamiliar to them, and they became rich beyond their wildest dreams.

If your payroll was $27,000 and all you had was $5,000, would you withdraw the $5K and risk it in an all-or-nothing gamble in Vegas? (Okay, maybe not a good example, because Fred Smith did that, and ended up saving a young FedEx from extinction.)

I know, you’ve heard a multitude of lucky gambles, and you might try something that bold, and end up losing it all.

This is nothing new, people following their path, diligently doing the work to build their thing, being faithful and earnest, often suffer from Shiny Object Syndrome, with the hope that some miracle will help them enjoy the fruits of their labor, without all the labor.

There’s nothing wrong with being involved in more than one project at a time. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to build your holdings exponentially. Keep in mind though that for those who have done so successfully, proceed with caution in succession. That means they,

Get One Done

They complete one project, and get it to a place where it is self-sustainable, then consider adding another project or property.

If you do not do this, it may be the death-blow to your otherwise successful career.

We all love entertaining the idea of shiny objects, or imagining how the grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, and there is no doubt that spreading your investments over a wide range of cyclical investments can add incredible stability to your organization and increase your efforts exponentially. But you can’t put the cart in front of the horse and expect a prudent outcome.

Your horse is what you’re tending to now. Take care of your horse until it is healthy and able to be profitable enough to cover its own expenses, caretaker and vet bills. Then, you can think about taking on another horse, creating, inventing, or investing in something “shiny” to add to your holdings.

You will get many opportunities presented by folks taunting, “Have I got a deal for you…” Thank them for sharing, and stay focused on your dream. Don’t put your dream at risk by being distracted by other opportunities that might end up in the loss of everything you’ve work for.

You got this.

Angel Encounters

What are the chances you will experience an angel encounter in your lifetime?

Angels are around and keeping a watchful eye on you. They will not interfere, but they are there, always, even if you’re unable to be aware of their presence.

Most of us go through our whole lives without experiencing some of the most incredible details that surround us in this dimension. So, it is reasonable to assume that even a greater number of us are unaware of the existence of other dimensions, which we cannot see clearly.

Angels are very real in high forms and low forms. The lower forms of angels have default access to us, but the higher angels are always monitoring us, loving us, joyous for us, weeping with us, and comforting us. It is likely you may never be aware of their presence unless you explore your sensitivities enough to become aware of their presence.

Some people regard angels as artistically inspired fiction, while some believe they are messengers in service of a church or religious organization(s), others believe they are aliens. It doesn’t really matter what you believe. What matters is that they are there. They have always been there, they predate our existence on this planet, and many of us experience angel encounters.

Angel encounters have been well-documented for as long as we were able to have means of documentation.

Have you had an angel encounter?

Have you experienced an angel encounter recently? Yes, they have been appearing and continue to appear even today.

While accounts of their encounters are recorded in religious texts, angels do not adhere or subscribe to any religious preference. They existed before we (mankind) did, and it is we who created religions in an effort to increase our connection to God.

You may argue (as most religious believers do) that God has a religious preference, but the angels do not. That’s why it’s not surprising that angels appear to people from all walks of life, believer and non-believers alike.

One on One Angelic Encounters

Today, reports of angelic visitation include intervention by a person who suddenly appears (as if from nowhere) and redirects your attention to avoid a potential catastrophe, then vanishes just as quickly as they appeared. Others report seeing an angel dressed in white, or full winged regalia, appear and then disappear, reporting a strong sense of, love, peace, safety, and security, which some report as being in the presence of God.

St. Paul speaks of such an appearance in Acts, “For there stood by me this night the angel of God…” (Acts 27:23) and it still is happening today.

Angels Among Us

Also, you never know when a person whom you do not know, appears in your life, looking just like an ordinary person, but is, in fact, an angel. St. Paul cautions us, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).

These visitations are the most difficult to confirm, as sometimes, the actual benevolent and random act of kindness of one human being to another, conducted anonymously may be confused with the intervention of an angel. Even so, erring on the side of the divine is my preference, and may God bless all those who make it a priority to support others without recognition or reward. Angels, or not, their actions are angelic in nature.

In the Arms of an Angel

It is not uncommon for people who would otherwise be at their wit’s end, in desperation, depression, or pain, to suddenly feel comforted, loved and at peace, who insist that they are being held in the arms of an angel, or wrapped in an angel’s wings.

Such accounts are well-documented in religious texts, such as, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4).

These are the most common examples of angelic visitation, and there are also signs that angels use to allow us to be aware of their presence.

Angels in Concert

Other accounts of being in the presence of angels include an overwhelming feeling of spiritual elation, and feeling as though the presence of many angels are surrounding the visited and experiencing the exhilaration in concert with the person reporting the angelic visitation.

Reports of this nature include people engaged in praise and worship in religious contexts, or overwhelming awe and reverence among creation, such as in nature, or nature in combination with solar or nocturnal beauty.

The feeling of being surrounded by a large number of angels who are actively engaged in sharing the event in concert with those feeling their presence and sharing in the celebration.

In any case, there is no denying the existence of angels. They are among us at all times. Whether you actually get to see one, or not, they are still there, step by step, sharing your journey with you.

How to Be a Nicer Person

When you’ve had a particularly hard life, it can get you down. As you go through life, you can get stuck seeing life from its seedy underbelly. This view can help keep you down, but you can raise your perspective and take a stroll along the bright side of life by getting ideas about how to be a nicer person.

If your vibrational set point is set at this lower perspective, even after visiting the good things life has to offer, you are likely to return to what you’re used to, your normal setting of this lower vibration.

In this lower vibration, it’s not uncommon to feel like a lone wolf, with the inability to trust other people, and you may even start to feel more comfortable, the less people you have around you, which could lead to isolation. In this state of mind, being somewhat of a hermit might feel better than putting yourself at risk of risking the plight of integrating with others.

One of the things you could do to raise your vibration would be to become a better person. I’m not saying you’re not a good person, you’re a fantastic person just the way you are. There’s no one else on this planet who is just like you. You are amazing. But, don’t let your vibration keep you down.

How to Be a Nicer Person

You could be a nicer person by reaching out to others and being a friendlier part of the human element as a whole. You do this by connecting to others. But how can you connect to the people whom you feel isolated from?

Decide to Be a Nicer Person

Once you’ve made the decision to become a nice person, you’ve got to let go of how you look at other people. You need to stop judging them. Everyone is just another person, just like you are. They use the bathroom and put their clothes on just like you do. You must be able to wrap your head around the idea that we’re all doing the best we can with what we have.

Stop judging and stereotyping individuals by their appearance, their clothes, accessories or the car they drive. You have no idea what is going on inside that person’s life. Get used to the idea that you cannot tell a book by its cover, and stop trying to.

Let go of the idea that everyone is out to get you. No one is out to get you, unless you invite those to come and get you by psychically emitting the magnetic field of victimization by thinking thoughts, like, “everyone’s out to get me.” In that case, they will answer your call. So, stop doing that.

When you change the way you think about the people around you, the people around you change. You will see other people, those who you might have seen as potential threats, becoming nicer people as you are becoming a nicer person. When you learn to be a nicer person and follow these steps, being a nicer person is contagious.

Here are some ideas to ponder when thinking about getting closer to other people.

Do Something Nice

In our topsy-turvy fast-paced world, it’s easy to be distracted an not to pay attention to what’s going on around us in the real world, especially since more and more of us are checking our communication devices more often.

Being aware of your surroundings, you may be able to see someone whom you could bless with a random act of kindness. Like if you see someone who is height challenged (short in stature) trying to reach something on a upper shelf in a grocery store, just the simple act of reaching for the item on their behalf, can be a special small act of kindness on your part.

Nice people are often in the field of niceness and you find them doing nice things for others. Their attention to their surroundings keeps them alert for opportunities to do something nice for someone else. At the supermarket you could, grab a shopping basket and offer it to someone, allow someone to go ahead of you in the checkout line, or offer someone your parking space.

The idea is, no matter where you are, if other people are around you, there are opportunities to reach out and make someone’s day a little bit better. That’s what nice people do.

Get to Know Someone Else

It’s easy to get lost in your own world, especially if you’ve been spending a while in it alone. But getting to know someone means reaching out, inviting someone to share about themselves, then listen, like nice people do.

It’s easy to fall into picking up on other’s keywords, then interjecting stories and experiences about ourselves. When you’ve invited someone to open up, and they’ve raised the courage to open up, your interruption to interject your own experience or point of view, will shut them down. Good luck trying to get them to open up again. You will never get below the surface for a truly meaningful connection with this person.

Shut Your Trap

The best way, to connect with someone, to get to know them better, is to refrain from interrupting them telling about themselves. Let them speak about themselves. We all want to be heard, and if you’re willing to let them speak, people sincerely desire someone to listen to them (so much so, that they are willing to pay their hard-earned cash an hour for someone to listen to them).

People long to connect to other people, and they shouldn’t have to pay someone to do it. We all should be able to “be there” for each other.

So the next time someone begins to open up about themselves, do not interrupt them by talking about yourself. Just listen. You may actively listen, to prove to him or her your mind is not elsewhere by not checking your phone while they are speaking, looking them in the eyes, and repeating key points to them, confirming they have your full attention.

And when they’re done, before giving in to the urge of talking about yourself, ask them, “Is there anything more about that?”

You’ll be surprised how that simple invitation will give the person the permission and empower them to let you in even deeper. Again, resist interjecting, and when they’re done, ask them again, “Is there anything else?”

When they offer up, “No. That’s all.” Now, you can talk about yourself. If you’re asked, “What do you think about that?” Simply answer, “I understand what it must’ve been like for you.”

Be careful not to judge what they’ve just told you, or offer them advice, unless they specifically ask for input or advice.

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

The other thing you can do, when someone is telling you their story, is to imagine what it might have been to be that person, living out their life, doing the best they can with what they have and having to deal with life’s challenges.

What might be no big deal for you, might be a huge catastrophe for someone else. Imagine what it might feel like to be in that other person’s skin at that moment. What would you feel like if you were that person, in that moment in time?

This is empathy, feeling another person’s feelings, that draws us closer and creates an emotional connection between two people in conversation.

Now that you’re connecting with others, you will find you are on your way to living a better life, possibly your best life, and now you can help make the world a better place.